battle, nineteenth century

Battle of Wood Lake

Name: Battle of Wood Lake
Start: 1862-09-23
Location: Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, United States

Battle of Wood Lake was a battle fought on 23 September 1862 at Yellow Medicine County, in what is now Minnesota, United States. It was part of the Dakota War of 1862. The recorded result: United States victory. Recorded strength: 1,450–1,619 against <738.

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Location of the Sioux positions along the bluffs north of the Minnesota Volunteers' camp at Wood Lake Battlefield. Paul Hawke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fought23 September 1862

WhereYellow Medicine County, Minnesota, United States44.701N, 95.436W

OutcomeUnited States victory

BelligerentsUnited StatesagainstSantee Sioux

Casualties and losses7 killed; 34–50 woundedand14–30 killed; Unknown number wounded

Battlefield todayWood Lake battlefieldNPS site MN002, 3,504 acres studied, 1,859 core

Part ofDakota War of 18621862

Where it sits in the Dakota War of 1862

7 placed engagements of the Dakota War of 1862 in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	23 September 1862
Place	Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, United States 44.701N, 95.436W
Kind	Battle, nineteenth century
Strength	1,450–1,619	<738
Casualties and losses	7 killed; 34–50 wounded	14–30 killed; Unknown number wounded
Commanders	Henry Hastings Sibley	Little Crow Mankato (Mdewakanton) Big Eagle

The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the battlefield study area mapped by the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Birch Coulee 1862, 39 km E
Battle of Lower Sioux Agency 1862, 42 km SE
Battle of Redwood Ferry 1862, 43 km SE
Battle of Fort Ridgely 1862, 62 km SE
Battle of Acton 1862, 74 km NE

In the same war

Before: Battle of Acton 3 September 1862
All 7 engagements of Dakota War of 1862

Elsewhere in 1862

Battle of Antietam United States
Battle of Fredericksburg United States
Second Battle of Bull Run United States
Battle of Shiloh United States
Battle of Puebla Mexico

The National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program maps this as the Wood Lake battlefield (site MN002): a study area of 3,504 acres, with a core area of 1,859 acres where the fighting was concentrated.

Battle of Wood Lake is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States (11 in Minnesota).

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4872754, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Wood Lake, revision 1381483083, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (public domain). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.